Thoughts and observations on the radio/TV station and wireless tower trading markets. A look at the impact and integration of new media into station operations.
Station values, stations for sale, radio and TV station news, towers, and more from a Director of Media Services Group and co-publisher of Inside Towers.

Media Services Group was founded in 1990 and has grown into one of the most successful media brokerage firms in the past decade. The firm offers brokerage, asset management, valuation and investment banking services to the broadcast and new media industries from offices throughout the U.S. For more information, please visit www.mediaservicesgroup.com

Wednesday, March 2, 2016

Vertical Bridge, the largest private
owner and manager of wireless communication infrastructure in the U.S., today
announced that it has completed the acquisition of nearly 200 radio broadcast
towers in a two part transaction with Alpha Media. The portfolio of assets
acquired includes 64 sites from Alpha Media’s existing portfolio and 49 sites
which Alpha Media recently acquired as part of its purchase of radio stations
from Digity, LLC. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

With this acquisition, Vertical Bridge
now has a total portfolio of over 42,000 towers, rooftop locations, billboards,
utility infrastructure and other site locations that it owns, operates or
manages. The company’s geographic presence in key markets across the U.S. has
also expanded significantly.

“We are thrilled to partner with Larry
Wilson and Alpha Media, which owns and operates an admirable portfolio of
assets in prime locations across top markets,” said Alex Gellman, Chief
Executive Officer of Vertical Bridge. “It would be challenging to site these
towers today, and we feel fortunate to expand our portfolio into these areas
and further strengthen Vertical Bridge’s offering to our partners. Since these
towers have not yet been marketed to wireless carriers, they offer attractive
new collocation opportunities. Our broadcast partners will also benefit from
the height of these towers as they will provide good relocation options
relative to the 600MHz auction repacking process.”

Alpha Media Chairman, Larry Wilson
commented on the announcement, “We could not have done this without the hard
work and determination from the great team at Vertical Bridge. We’re proud to
call them a partner of the Alpha Media family.”